Red Priest Coming March 4

The Classical music world has embraced specialization. Not only is it common to find groups that specialize in Baroque music, but now you’ll find ensembles that focus even more narrowly…French Baroque, German Baroque, Baroque on original instruments, Baroque ensembles dressed as pirates…PIRATES? Check out this recent photo of Red Priest:

Their web site states,

Red Priest is the only early music group in the world to have been compared in the press to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones and the Cirque du Soleil. This extraordinary acoustic foursome has been described by music critics as

‘visionary and heretical’,
‘outrageous yet compulsive’,
‘wholly irreverent and highly enlightened’,
‘completely wild and deeply imaginative’,
with a ‘red-hot wicked sense of humour’
and a ‘ break-all-rules, rock-chamber concert approach to early music.’

The San Antonio Chamber Music Society is bringing Red Priest to town on Sunday, March 4 at 3:15 p.m. at Temple Beth-El. Their program is called Pirates of the Baroque and is based on “Stolen masterworks and long-lost jewels of the Baroque era performed with swashbuckling virtuosity!” Here is a brief video from their web site that describes their unique style:

The March 4th concert will include works by J. S. Bach, Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi, Corelli and several other composers from this era. If you are not clear about the definition of Baroque, it describes music written from about 1600 to 1760. The name of the ensemble, Red Priest, was the nickname of Vivaldi.